Finger-tip gripping aid for bowlers



Oct. 26, 1965 K- L. ELL

FINGER-TIP GRIPPING AID FOR BOWLERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 8, 1962INVENTOR. KALMAN L. Pau.

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Oct. 26, 1965 K. L. FELL 3,214, 67

FINGER-TIP GRIPPING AID FOR BOWLERS Filed 001?. 8, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR. KALMA L. PEu.

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United States Patent 3,214,167 FINGER-TIP GRIPPHNG All) FUR BQWLERSKalman L. Fell, Box 147, Genesee, Idaho Filed (let. 8, 1%2, Ser. No.229,076 Claims. ((31. 273-54) This application is concerned with a novelfinger tip device for bowlers. It is especially designed to eliminatethe conventional bowling grip wherein the fingers of the bowler areinserted within apertures formed in the bowling ball structure.

The present invention is concerned with a mechanical aid for bowlersadapted to more uniformly provide a finger tip grip on the bowling ball.The common practice among bowlers of using the finger tips to controlthe rolling motion of the ball relative to the surface on which it isdirected places great stress on the fingers and substantially lessensthe chances of an average bowler maintaining a uniform grip. Thedesirable uniformity in the grip of a ball is lost through fatigue anddue to moisture and perspiration which causes the ball to erraticallyslip from a persons fingers.

It is a first object of this invention to provide a finger tip devicefor use by bowlers which maintains the normal leverage to control a ballbut which completely eliminates the insertion of the fingers into theball. In place of ones fingers, this device contemplates a pair ofprojections which are received within complementary apertures of theball and which act to transmit forces from the users hand to the ballfor purposes of control.

Another object of this invention is to provide uch a device which isextremely simple to manufacture and which may be fabricated at aneconomical cost so as to be available to any participant in the sport.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a device which maybe readily attached to or removed from a persons hand so as to affordrelaxation between deliveries of the ball and so as not to interferewith the normal habits of the bowler.

These and further objects will be evident from a study of the followingdescription, which is concerned with two examples of the invention. Thespecific embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings butare not intended to limit or restrict the scope of the invention whichis defined in the claims following this description.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary view of a bowling ball prior to delivery, aportion of the bowling ball being broken away so as to show the relationof the bowlers hand, the instant device and the ball;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom underside view of the device illustrated in FIGURE1 FIGURE 3 is a top view of this device;

FIGURE 4 is a side view of the device;

FIGURE 5 is an end view taken toward the outer end of the device;

FIGURE 6 is an opposite end view of the device;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged top view of a second embodiment of the device;

FIGURE 8 is a bottom view of the device shown in FIGURE 7 with the strapremoved;

FIGURE 9 is a top view of the device shown in FIG- URE 7 with the strapremoved;

FIGURE 10 is a side view of the device shown in FIGURE 7 with the strapremoved;

FIGURE 11 is a view looking toward the outer end of the device shown inFIGURE 7 with the strap removed;

FIGURE 12 is an opposite end view of the complete device illustrated inFIGURE 7; and

ice

FIGURE 13 is a sectional elevation taken along line 13-413 in FIGURE 9.

The present invention is concerned with a finger tip bowling aid for usein the conventional game of bowling or tenpins. It is common practicetoday to utilize a three-finger grip having one enlarged hole: withinwhich the users thumb is inserted and two smaller holes within which areinserted the two middle fingers: of the users hand. By use of thisthree-finger grip the bowler may accurately and uniformly control thesense of rotation of the ball about its center as the ball rolls alongthe alley. However, this desirable uniformity is often not available tothe occasional bowler due to fatigue of his fingers and also due tomoisture and perspiration, both along his finger surfaces and along thesurfaces of the holes in the ball. In order to alleviate this problem,the present device substitutes mechanical tips in place of the usersfingers so that the fingers themselves do not engage the ball.

As shown in FIGURE 1 a conventional bowling ball 10 is utilized with aconventional thumb hole designated by the numeral 11. The device isshown on a persons hand and would normally be engaged by second andthird fingers of the hand when in use on a ball. The finger tip includesa curved plate 12 which is bent so as to approximately conform to theouter spherical surface of ball 10. The plate 12 is sufficiently wide toreceive the necessary two fingers which are to be supported thereon andis sufficiently long so as to be covered by the last two knuckles of thefingers supported thereby. The plate 12 is provided with a centralupstanding rib 13 which in actual use is a separator wall bent back uponitself and adapted to be abutted by the fingers on both sides thereof.The plate 12 is further provided with two projections 14 fixed to theunderside thereof adjacent its outer longitudinal end. Each projection14 as illustrated is a spherical ball welded or otherwise secured to theplate 12. The projections 14 are adapted to be received withincomplementary apertures 19 formed through the surface of the ball 10.Thus the projections 14 substitute for the normal insertion of the usersfingers within the ball 10.

In order to effectively control the ball 10, the user must be able topositively locate the projections 14 relative to his hand. This isaccomplished primarily through rib 13 which is abutted along its entirelength by the users fingers. However, since the projections 14 must alsobe pulled from the ball 10 when the ball is released, it is alsonecessary to more positively locate plate 12 relative to the usersfingers. This is first accomplished by overhanging ledges 18 at theouter edge of rib 13 adjacent the outer end thereof. The ledges 18 areadapted to partially overlap the finger tips of the user. Primarily thegrip of plate 12 is accomplished by upwardly bent wings at either sideof plate 12, the wings 15 being shown specifically in FIGURES 4 and 6.Wings 15 cooperate with a padded clamp 16 which is adapted to betightened on the users fingers by means of a wing nut 17 threadablyengaged on a screw 30 fixed to rib 13 and projecting upwardly therefrom.Thus by tightening the nut 17 one can positively clamp the plate 12 tohis fingers and thereby substitute the projections 14 for his finger tipgrip which is so widely used at the present.

The device is obviously very simple to attach to ones fingers and iseasily adapted to an existing ball by simply locating the position ofprojections 14 on the ball and drilling the small apertures 19 toreceive them. The projections 14 will normally be located beyond theusual finger holes since they will be positioned adjacent the tips ofthe users fingers rather than at the first or second 3 knuckle. For thisreason the apertures 19 may be readily drilled in a ball although theball is equipped with the conventional grip holes. The device is readilysecured or removed from the bowlers hand so that he need not wear it atall times and may be readily positioned for delivery of ball whendesired.

A second embodiment of this device is illustrated in FIGURE 7. Itcomprises a curved plate similar to the plate 12 and bent to conform tothe ball surface. The plate 20 is provided with two projections 28identical in structure to the previously described projections 14. Theplate 20 has an outer surface on which is located a rib 21 which extendsalong the full length of plate 20. Rib 21 is separated from the plate 20adjacent the near end of rib 21 so as to form a slot 23. Two rigid loops22 are formed along each side of plate 20 adjacent the near end thereof.The slots 23 and loops 22 carry a flexible belt comprising two loops 24and 25 formed respectively between the loops 22 and the slot 23. Theouter ends of the belt form a third overlapping loop 26 and are securedto one another by a quick releasing buckle 27. The structure of buckle27 is conventional and is not particularly material to the invention athand. The loops 24 and 25 of the belt are adapted to individuallyreceive the two fingers of the user which are applied to the plate 20and any looseness in the belt may be readily taken up by tightening thebuckle 27. To remove the device from the fingers, one need only torelease the buckle 27 and pull outwardly on the plate 20. This willcause the belt to pull out of the slot 23 and thereby form a ingle largeloop which can be readily slipped from the fingers. The plate 20 istherefore readily accessible to the user and may be removed or attachedto his hand in a matter of a few seconds.

I have disclosed two specific embodiments of my invention. It is to beunderstood that various other means may be used to locate the plate andprojections relative to the users hand while maintaining the basicrelationship necessary between the bowlers fingers and the artificialfinger tip provided herein. For this reason I do not intend to presentthe above descriptions as limiting definitions of the invention butmerely as examples thereof.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A bowling ball finger tip comprising:

a curved plate having an underside formed complementary to the outersurface of a bowling ball, said plate being adapted to be interposedbetween the ball and the fingers of a user with the underside of theplate resting on the ball;

a plurality of projections fixed to the underside of said plate adaptedto fit within complementary apertures of a bowling ball;

and means on the plate adapted to releasably clamp said plate to thefingers of a user.

2. A bowling ball finger tip comprising:

a curved plate having an underside formed complementary to the outersurface of a bowling ball, said plate being adapted to be interposedbetween the ball and the fingers of a user with the underside f theplate resting on the ball;

an upstanding longitudinal central rib fixed tothe outer surface of saidplate adapted to be abutted by the fingers of a user;

a plurality of projections fixed to the underside of said plate at theouter end thereof adapted to be received within complementary aperturesof a bowling ball;

and means on said plate adapted to releasably clamp said plate to thefingers of a user.

3. A bowling ball finger tip comprising:

a curved plate having an underside formed complementary to the outersurface of a bowling ball, said plate being adapted to be interposedbetween the ball and the fingers of a user with the underside of theplate resting on the ball;

an upstanding longitudinal central rib fixed to the outer surface ofsaid plate adapted to be abutted by the fingers of a user;

a plurality of projections fixed to the underside of said plate at theouter end thereof adapted to be received within complementary aperturesof a bowling ball;

and releasable means mounted on said plate and extending over the uppersurface thereof adjacent its inner end, said means being spaced fromsaid plate and being adapted to clamp the fingers of a user again-stsaid outer surface of said plate.

4. A device as defined in claim 3 wherein said releasable meanscomprises:

a strap extending through fixed loops at each side of said plate andfreely received within an open slot separating one end of said rib andsaid plate, the outer ends of said strap being provided with quickreleasing buckle means adapted to selectively secure said outer ends ofsaid strap to one another.

5. A bowling ball finger tip comprising:

a curved plate having an underside formed complementary to the outersurface of a bowling ball, said plate being adapted to be interposedbetween the ball and the fingers of a user with the underside of theplate resting on the ball;

upstanding rib means on the outer surface of said plate adapted tocontact the fingers of a user;

means fixed to the underside of said plate adapted to be received freelywithin apertures formed through the surface of a bowling ball;

and means on said plate releasably engageable with the fingers of a useradapted to releasably clamp the plate to the fingers.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 690,302 12/01 Lee294-25 2,712,160 7/55 Sterczek 27363 X 2,996,299 8/61 Showers 273643,011,171 12/61 Pell.

3,033,567 5/62 Raab 27364 X 3,038,723 6/62 Bergendorf 27354 3,098,6547/63 Larsen 27364 X DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner.

1. A BOWLING BALL FINGER TIP COMPRISING: A CURVED PLATE HAVING ANUNDERSIDE FORMED COMPLEMENTARY TO THE OUTER SURFACE OF A BOWLING BALL,AND PLATE BEING ADAPTED TO BE INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE BALL AND THEFINGERS OF A USER WITH THE UNDERSIDE OF THE PLATE RESTING ON THE BALL; APLURALITY OF PROJECTIONS FIXED TO THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID PLATE ADAPTED TOFIT WITHIN COMPLEMENTARY APERTURES OF A BOWLING BALL; AND MEANS ON THEPLATE ADAPTED TO RELEASABLY CLAMP SAID PALTE TO THE FINGERS OF A USER.